Author: The Fix

How to Taper Off Suboxone: A Survival Guide

“Fear is common and normal for a number of reasons, but the fear usually gives way to a sense of confidence and optimism when a taper is done correctly…Be patient.”

Note: This article is not intended as a replacement for medical advice. This is merely the experience of 21 people interviewed by the author who have successfully tapered off buprenorphine-based medications (Suboxone, Zubsolv, Bunavail, Subutex, etc.) or significantly reduced their dose. Please consult your doctor before beginning a taper.

After two and a half years of taking Suboxone, I’ve decided that it’s time to start the tapering process. I don’t like having to rely on this little orange film strip each morning to get out of bed, the tidal wave of nausea, being constantly hot, the restless legs, and the constipation. This is an incredibly difficult decision because Suboxone has saved my life. Additionally, studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of Suboxone and found it’s reduced overdose death rates by 40 percent.

Some people decide that it is best for them to take Suboxone for life. Shannon has been taking 16 milligrams of Suboxone for 17 years and has no intention of tapering. She said: “I’m never getting off, why fix something that isn’t broken? I love life now. I’m a great mother, wife, daughter, sister, aunt, and trustworthy friend to all those that know and love me. I have absolutely no shame being a lifer. I’ve been to the depths of hell and now I’m in heaven. I believe without subs, I would be dead.”

Like Shannon, fear of relapse and withdrawals makes me terrified of coming off Suboxone. I imagine waking up panicked and glazed in sweat, running to the bathroom to puke and worst of all, the black hole of depression and existential dread that is common with opioid withdrawal. These are common fears for people coming off opioid addiction treatment medications. In order to help others like me who are interested in tapering, I researched this topic and surveyed 21 people: 13 have successfully tapered off Suboxone and eight have significantly lowered their doses and are currently at or under six milligrams per day.

Slow Taper

Sixteen of 21 people I surveyed reported using a slow taper to come off or lower their dose. Dr. Jeffrey Junig of the Suboxone Talk Zone Blog suggests that the optimal dose to “jump” or quit taking Suboxone is .3 mg (about 1/3 of 1 mg).

Junig writes: “I have had many patients taper successfully off buprenorphine. Fear is common and normal for a number of reasons, but the fear usually gives way to a sense of confidence and optimism when a taper is done correctly…Be patient. Tapering by too much, or too quickly, causes withdrawal symptoms that lead to ‘yo-yos’ in dose.”

Amanda* agrees with Junig’s advice not to try to jump from too high of a dose. She said that when she jumped from 2 mg cold turkey it was “40 days of hell.”

To avoid a hellish experience like Amanda’s, Junig advises reducing your dose by 5% or less every two weeks or 10% every month. Sound confusing? Junig simplifies: Use scissors to cut half of an 8 mg film. Then cut half of that, then half again. Put the doses in a pill organizer so they don’t get lost or accidentally consumed by children or pets.

Holistic Remedies

There are a handful of holistic remedies that can help with the tapering process. Folks I surveyed said that yoga, meditation, and healthy eating are pillars of their recovery. Studies have confirmed the benefit of yoga for improving quality of life in those withdrawing from opioids as it alleviates anxiety, restless legs, insomnia, and even nausea.

Sarah said: “I tapered with a clean diet with digestible nutrient-dense food and smoothies and stayed hydrated. I got plenty of sun, used yoga and exercise too.”

Others recommended vitamins and other supplements including: L-Tyrosine, DLPA, Vitamin C, Omega 3 Fish Oil, and ashwagandha. They used melatonin for sleep and Kava tea for relaxation. (Consult your physician before taking any supplements. Even benign substances may interact with other medications or have unintended side effects.)

Marijuana

Four out of 21 people polled used marijuana to deal with the difficult side effects of tapering off Suboxone. Barry said: “I know that some people may not see marijuana as a way that should be used to taper, but for me I was desperate to try anything that worked. I consider marijuana a lesser of evils. It helped with restless legs, nausea, pain, and anxiety.”

Marijuana may now be a viable option for those who wish to try it, because it’s now legal for medical use in 29 states and for recreational use in nine states plus Washington DC. Unlike opioids, marijuana provides pain relief with a lower risk of addiction and nearly no risk of overdose. Plus, comprehensive studies like this one from the American Pain Society found that medical cannabis use is associated with a 64 percent decrease in opiate medication use.

While studies have supported the use of marijuana to reduce opioid use, further research needs to be done as reported in the The Daily Beast. Dr. Junig also advises that patients should not start new mood-altering, addictive substances in order to taper off Suboxone.

CBD Oil

Three of the Suboxone patients polled were able to taper with the help of cannabidiol, also known as CBD oil. Experts emphasize the distinction between marijuana and CBD oil: CBD oil is not psychoactive, meaning that it doesn’t make patients feel “high” like the THC in marijuana. CBD oil may be a more viable option for people in states where marijuana has not been legalized and also for those who do not want mood altering affects, but strictly relief from physical symptoms. “I used CBD oil during the taper because pot isn’t legal in my state and it helped with restless legs, sleep, and anxiety,” Pablo said.

A 2015 study in Neurotherapeutics examined the therapeutic benefits of cannabidiol as a treatment for opioid addiction. They found that CBD oil is effective in reducing the addictive properties of opioids, mitigating withdrawals, and lessening heroin-related cravings. Specifically, it relieved physical symptoms such as: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, runny nose, sweating, cramping, muscle spasm. Additionally, it treats mental symptoms like anxiety, agitation, insomnia, and restlessness. The study states CBD oil is effective with minimal side effects and toxicity.

Kratom

In our survey, the people who tried kratom claim that the herb is a controversial yet effective way for tapering from Suboxone. Some experts agree. According to the Mayo Clinic: “In Asia, people have used kratom in small amounts to reduce fatigue or treat opium addiction. In other parts of the world, people take kratom to ease withdrawal, feel more energetic, relieve pain, or reduce anxiety or depression.”

Four of the individuals surveyed used kratom for tapering off Suboxone. Christine said, “I was very tired when coming off Suboxone, so kratom helped give me the energy to work, clean my house, and take care of my kids.”

Cristopher R. McCurdy, PhD, a professor of medicinal chemistry at University of Florida’s College of Pharmacy in Gainesville, studies kratom. McCurdy told WebMD: “I definitely believe there is legitimacy to using kratom to self-treat an opiate addiction.”

Despite these positive reviews, the Mayo Clinic and Web MD caution that kratom can also lead to addiction and withdrawal. According to an article on WebMD, “There’s little research on the herb’s effects on people, and some experts say it also can be addictive. The herb is illegal in six states and the District of Columbia, and the Drug Enforcement Administration is considering labeling it as a Schedule I drug…For now, the agency calls it a ‘drug of concern.’”

Pharmaceutical Remedies

Five of the people surveyed said that they tapered with the support of medications prescribed by their doctors to treat individual withdrawal symptoms. It is best that patients talk with their doctors and addiction professionals to see if a particular medication is right for their situation.

Happy tapering! I plan on writing more in the future about my experience and progress tapering off Suboxone. If you’re embarking on this journey, I wish you luck!

The names of some individuals have been changed to respect their privacy.

Have you successfully tapered off Suboxone or methadone? Or are you a “lifer” like Shannon? We’d love to hear your thoughts, experiences, and tips in the comment section.

View the original article at thefix.com

5 November 2018
How Alcohol "Hijacks" Dopamine Pathways

Researchers explored how alcohol affects memories in a recent study.

While it’s long been known that alcohol affects the brain’s reward pathways, a new study has shed light on exactly how this happens and how it affects memories made while under the influence.

According to Inverse, Brown University researchers have proven that alcohol “affects a specific cell signaling pathway in the brains of fruit flies.”

The specific pathway is called “Notch,” Inverse reports, and is found in humans and most other multicellular organisms.

Karla Kaun, assistant professor of neuroscience at Brown University and the study’s corresponding author, tells Newsweek that the way alcohol affects signaling on the Notch pathway can affect associative memory, which can “drive addiction.”

“While you are drinking, you are forming memories for cues in your environment, like the feel of the glass or the bouquet of your wine, that become associated with the feeling of being intoxicated,” she said. “Our study provides genetic and biochemical evidence that fairly low doses of alcohol can activate a highly conserved cell-signaling pathway in the brain, leading to changes in expression of genes important for learning and memory.”

According to Inverse, the signaling of the Notch pathway plays a vital role in developing brains for embryos. But, until now, researchers say the impact of the Notch pathway in adults has been underestimated because the pathway could have to do with how alcohol affects dopamine, the neurotransmitter often connected with positive feelings and substance use disorder.

During the study, a group of fruit flies was trained to seek out alcohol. In that group, the activation of the Notch pathway affected the flies by changing a certain gene. While alcohol did not decrease, increase or activate the dopamine receptors, it did alter the “gene expression of the dopamine receptors that cells produced,” Inverse reports.

According to study authors, this change indicates that alcohol is “hijacking” how the dopamine pathways in the brain respond to “pleasure and reward.”

“If this works the same way in humans, one glass of wine is enough to activate the pathway, but it returns to normal within an hour,” Kaun told the Independent.

However, the more drinks consumed, the longer it takes to revert to normal.

“After three glasses, with an hour break in between, the pathway doesn’t return to normal after 24 hours,” Kaun added. “We think this persistence is likely what is changing the gene expression in memory circuits.”

Though not involved with the study, Peter Giese, a professor of neuroscience at King’s College London, tells the Independent that studies like this assist in developing a greater understanding of the brains in those battling substance use disorder, and, in turn, a greater chance of helping them.

“[This study] suggests that drug addiction persists because memory mechanisms were hijacked by drug exposure,” Giese told the Independent. “The study not only provides a model for understanding the persistence of drug addiction, it also identifies potential pharmacological targets for treating addiction.”

View the original article at thefix.com

3 November 2018
Births Affected By Opioids Continue To Rise Among Rural Women

“More than 60% of rural moms with opioid use disorder give birth locally. These rural hospitals may have more limited capacity to care for them and their babies.”

The opioid epidemic has meant that more rural moms and babies are affected by drug abuse, often requiring specialized care at hospitals that are located far from home, according to a new study.

The study, published in the Journal of Rural Health, found that the numbers of mothers with opioid use disorder giving birth and infants with neonatal abstinence syndrome increased in rural hospitals, urban non-teaching hospitals and urban teaching hospitals.

Mothers who abuse opioids are at increased risks of complications during pregnancy and childbirth, including pre-term labor. At the same time, infants who are born dependent on opioids often have health issues that require a stay in the neonatal intensive care unit.

This is significant because as the rates of maternal opioid abuse and neonatal abstinence syndrome increase, rural hospitals with fewer resources can be overwhelmed, and urban teaching hospitals—often with the best resources—see more patients from far away.

“Some of these rural moms, especially those with clinical complications, give birth in urban, teaching hospitals, often far from home,” said Katy Kozhimannil, associate professor in the University of Minnesota School of Public Health and director of the University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center. “Yet, our study findings show that more than 60% of rural moms with opioid use disorder give birth locally. These rural hospitals may have more limited capacity to care for them and their babies.”

The study found that many expectant moms with opioid use disorder are sent to urban teaching hospitals, suggesting that healthcare providers in rural settings have become adept at identifying patients with this condition and referring them to the appropriate level of care.

In fact, rural women who gave birth in urban teaching hospitals had the highest rate of maternal opioid use disorder, at 8.9 per 1,000 deliveries, since high-risk patients are often referred to this setting.

However, since many women still have high-risk opioid-affected births at rural hospitals, Kozhimannil says more resources need to be made available in that setting. At rural hospitals, the rate of moms with opioid use disorder is 4.3 per 1,000 deliveries.

“Recent policy and clinical efforts to address opioid-affected births have frequently focused on specialized capacity building within tertiary care settings, often urban teaching hospitals,” said Kozhimannil. “Yet, these results show that resources are also needed in rural hospitals that are caring for more and more opioid-affected moms and babies each year.”

View the original article at thefix.com

2 November 2018
One Washington County Is Treating The Opioid Crisis As A Natural Disaster

What if the government used the natural disaster coordinated system to mitigate the opioid epidemic?

In Snohomish County in Western Washington, officials are taking a unique approach to the opioid crisis by declaring it a life-threatening emergency, as if it were a natural disaster.

As overdose deaths are threatening more lives than hurricanes and mud slides, they say it makes practical sense. Ty Trenary, former police chief in Snohomish County, thought that his rural community was not affected by the drug crisis.

Trenary told NPR that at the time he thought, “This is Stanwood, and heroin is in big cities with homeless populations. It’s not in rural America.”

A new poll by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health showed the truth: 48% of people said opioid addiction in their communities has worsened over the past five years.

After Chief Trenary toured the local jails, he realized the problem was enormous. He witnessed over half of the jail inmates withdrawing from heroin or other opioid drugs.

“It took becoming the sheriff to see the impacts inside the jail with heroin abuse, to see the impacts in the community across the entire county for me to realize that we had to change a lot about what we were doing,” Trenary told NPR.

The idea to go the natural disaster route was the brainchild of Shari Ireton, the director of communications for the sheriff’s office. In 2014, a massive landslide in Washington killed 43 people. As the communications director, Ireton was in charge of organizing the press for field trips to the worst areas of landslide damage.

“It was amazing to see Black Hawk helicopters flying with our helicopter and a fixed wing over the top of that,” she told NPR. “All in coordination with each other, all with the same objective, which is life safety.”

Ireton had a moment of inspiration: what if the government used the natural disaster coordinated system with everyone working together, across government agencies, to treat the opioid epidemic?

The county loved the idea, and a group was formed called the Multi-Agency Coordination group, or MAC group. The group follows FEMA’s emergency response playbook and is run out of a special emergency operations center.

MAC includes seven overarching goals, which include reducing opioid misuse and reducing damage to the community. The goals are dissembled to smaller, workable steps, such as distributing needle cleanup kits and training schoolteachers to recognize trauma and addiction.

MAC is too new to understand the scope of the group’s impact on the community just yet. Those being helped will surely feel that it is a positive direction for Washington and for addiction treatment.

View the original article at thefix.com

2 November 2018
Americans Are Drinking And Spending More On Alcohol

Researchers found that drinking increased in all subgroups of the population, and most steeply among women, the elderly and minorities.

Americans are spending more on alcohol than ever before and are also reporting higher rates of alcohol use disorder, all while beverage companies are increasing their budgets for alcohol advertising.

Surprisingly, more than a quarter of Americans don’t drink at all, according to a study reported by 24/7 Wall Street. However, the percentage of Americans who said they have imbibed during the last year has risen steadily, from 65.4% in 2001-2002 to 72.7% in 2012-2013, according to data from the American Medical Association.

The increase wasn’t just among social drinkers—high-risk drinking increased 30% over that period as well, while alcohol use disorder increased nearly 50%.

Researchers found that drinking increased in all subgroups of the population, and most steeply among women, the elderly and minorities. Authors noted the need for attention to problem drinking.

“Most important, the findings herein highlight the urgency of educating the public, policymakers, and health care professionals about high-risk drinking and AUD, destigmatizing these conditions and encouraging those who cannot reduce their alcohol consumption on their own, despite substantial harm to themselves and others, to seek treatment,” they wrote.

Research on spending indicates that rates might have continued to rise. According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Expenditure Surveys, Americans spent more on alcohol in 2017 than they did in 2016.

Overall, spending on alcohol has increased 56.6% since 1996, even though the price of booze has not increased substantially during that time. The increase in spending has been sharpest among baby boomers, while millennials spend the least on alcohol.

“Our findings suggest that older Americans increased their alcohol spending dramatically, which resonates with growing public health concerns pertaining to Baby Boomers and booze,” the authors wrote. “In a related finding, retired professionals spent 186% more money on alcohol. Conversely, those younger than 25 spent less in 2016 than in 1996, attesting to a trend in millennials choosing to live sober.”

With so much spending at play, it’s no wonder that alcohol advertising is a massive industry, especially when it comes to sports. Each year the top 30 alcohol brands spend $764.5 million on sports sponsorship, according to industry data.

Most of that spending is by beer brands, with Bud Light alone spending approximately $250 million per year, more than one-third of the money spent globally on alcoholic beverage sports sponsorship. Heineken spends $118.3 million on sponsorships, while Budweiser spends $84.4 million.

View the original article at thefix.com

2 November 2018
Warnings Featuring Diseased Body Parts Make Smokers Think Twice

A recent study aimed to find which features made picture warnings the most effective.

When it comes to the effectiveness of warnings on tobacco products, a picture is worth a thousand words—particularly if that picture features a diseased or damaged body part caused by smoking.

Those types of warnings are the most effective at getting smokers to try to quit, according to a study published this week in the journalTobacco Control. Previous research had shown that picture warnings are more of a deterrent than text-only warnings, like those currently used in the United States.

This most recent study aimed to find which features made picture warnings the most effective, and found that those with damaged or diseased body parts and testimonials encouraged the most people to try and quit smoking.

“Humans act in response to our emotions,” lead author Jazmyne Sutton told The Philadelphia Inquirer. “When we feel a negative emotion—fear, disgust, etc.—we want to avoid the source of that emotion.”

In 118 countries—including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom—governments mandate that tobacco is sold in packaging that features pictures of cancerous growths, surgical holes in throats, amputations, gangrenous feet and other health ailments that can be caused by tobacco use.

“There has been tremendous progress internationally in implementing package health warnings, with many countries increasing warning size, more countries requiring picture warnings, and an increasing number of countries requiring multiple rounds of picture warnings,” wrote the authors of another recent report compiled by Canadian researchers. “The worldwide trend for larger, picture health warnings is growing and unstoppable, with many more countries in the process of developing such requirements.”

Those researchers found that larger warning labels—those that cover at least half of the packaging—are most effective. Timor-Leste, Nepal and Vanuatu had the largest warnings, which covered more than 85% of tobacco packaging.

In the United States, warning label requirements fall well behind many other countries, thanks in part to the still-powerful tobacco lobby. America had the smallest warning labels out of 206 countries reviewed by researchers.

In 2009, Congress passed a law requiring the use of warning labels with photos. However, the implementation of the law has been hindered by a lawsuit from tobacco manufacturers and retailers.

This fall, a court ruling ordered the FDA to speed up the process of implementing photo warnings. Proponents hope that this will help decrease the estimated 480,000 deaths caused by smoking each year, and reduce the number of Americans living with a smoking-related illness, currently estimated to be more than 16 million.

View the original article at thefix.com

2 November 2018
Pot-Smoking Parody Of Beloved TV Character Draws Legal Threat

The parody mascot maker sees Tokaroo as a learning tool for adolescents and adults alike about responsible use of marijuana.

A Canadian public broadcasting channel has issued a cease and desist letter to a mascot performer who has made public appearances at cannabis-related events in a costume that bears a resemblance to that of a beloved character from a children’s series.

Actor Mark Scott has appeared in costume as Polkaroo, a recurring character on the long-running Polka Dot Door program, at promotional events for more than 20 years, but more recently, has been spotted as “Tokaroo,” a red-eyed lookalike with a colossal faux joint, at events celebrating Canada’s recent legalization of marijuana.

TVOntario (TVO), which broadcast Polka Dot Door between 1971 and 1993, was not amused by Scott’s creation and gave him until October 26 to halt appearances as Tokaroo or face legal action.

But Scott dismissed the broadcaster’s claims that the character could be seen as promoting marijuana to children. “I think TVO is being a little bully-ish about this,” he told CBC Canada. “Their slogan is, ‘Never stop learning,’ and they’re doing a lot of ‘never’ and stopping.”

Scott sees Tokaroo as a learning tool for adolescents and adults alike about using marijuana responsibly.

Scott has, in fact, planned a whole online educational series built around “Candaroos”—Polkaroo lookalikes who will serve as teaching tools to build and guide conversations around a variety of social issues.

These include Rainbowroo, who talks about LGBT issues; Signaroo, who is hearing impaired and uses sign language; and Reddyroo, who has special needs.

“There will be a clear, no-nonsense discussion about [adolescent identity and social issues] using whatever language needs to be used, even if it’s foul language or street language,” said Scott, who wants to aim his series at adolescent viewers. “It will be appropriate for the people we’re talking to. To get past an issue, we have to talk about it. You know, it’s okay to be you.”

In a statement to the Canadian Press, TVO appeared to find little humor or value in Scott’s efforts. The broadcaster claimed that Tokaroo constitutes “unauthorized use” of its character that could pose “a very real threat of tarnishing Polkaroo’s reputation” through association with “an activity that is neither legal for children nor recommended for use by children.”

Scott was reportedly considering the options levied by TVO’s letter, but as of October 25, continued to insist that any similarities between Tokaroo and Polkaroo are “purely coincidental.”

View the original article at thefix.com

2 November 2018
2018 Reel Recovery Film Festival Returns to New York

The fest is the brainchild of Leonard Buschel, founder of Writers in Treatment (WIT), a nonprofit organization that helps alcoholic and addicted writers get clean.

Calling all cinephiles! The REEL Recovery Film Festival (RRFF), which is celebrating its 10th year, is back for its 6th Annual New York City Edition. The festival kicks off its public program at 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 2, with a screening of the Eric Clapton documentary, Life in 12 Bars. Click here for a free ticket to the documentary (or any movie at the festival), courtesy of Clapton’s treatment center, Crossroads Centre Antigua. The CEO of Crossroads, Nicos Peraticos, will be in attendance to give a short talk and introduce the film.

For the full Nov. 2–8 schedule, visit the RRFF website. Note: All tickets are General Admission so, word to the wise: arrive early in order to nab yourself a seat.

Every year since RRFF sprouted up in New York, I’ve attended this awesome week-long festival and had a blast meeting sober people. The fest is the brainchild of Leonard Buschel, founder of Writers in Treatment (WIT), a nonprofit organization that helps alcoholic and addicted writers get clean. WIT also publishes the Addiction Recovery Bulletin newsletter, and created the annual Experience Strength and Hope Awards. This year’s big award winner was Jane Velez-Mitchell for her New York Times best-selling memoir, iWANT: My Journey from Addiction and Overconsumption to a Simpler, Honest Life.

Buschel spoke to The Fix about how he got here and what makes this year’s RRFF so special.

“After 26 years of abusing everything from Valium to vodka and cocaine to codeine, I crashed and burned. I smoked breakfast, drank lunch and snorted dinner.”

Finally, beaten to his bottom, the depressed and close-to-hopeless Buschel schlepped himself into 12-step recovery at the Betty Ford Center.

“I’d prayed at the Western Wall,” he said. “I’d sat in temples of Kyoto, cried my eyes out at the Anne Frank House, but it wasn’t until I went to Betty Ford that I decided to get clean. I was horrified at the time, thinking it was some Christian enclave. Thankfully, I learned that wasn’t the case.”

“This year’s RRFF received generous support from the Addiction Policy Forum,” Buschel said. “So thanks to them we have some really special events that didn’t happen at the Los Angeles RRFF week in October that just ended. So, one movie that’s just for our New York crowd is the first theatrical screening of the Eric Clapton documentary, Life in 12 Bars.”

Such a perfect title since Clapton loves the blues.

Buschel continued: “We had to find a bigger venue this year because our audience has grown so much since we started. Judging by last year’s enthusiastic turnout, we are expecting an audience of around 2,000. So, this year, it will be at the 100-year-old Village East Cinema, which is a New York City landmark. Another special treat is on Monday afternoon at 3 o’clock when we’ll have another complimentary screening, the Bill W. documentary.”

The documentary’s director, Kevin Hanlon, will be at the theater and will give a talk. The film, which was created using old archives, is a moving documentary about AA founders Bill W. and Dr. Bob. Seeing those two on the big screen when it first came out gave me such a thrill. In my humble opinion, it is definitely worth watching the movie a second, or third, or fourth time.

Addiction specialist and psychodrama expert, Tian Dayton, PhD, who is the author of 15 books including Emotional Sobriety, will be presenting a 6 p.m. panel on the last night, Thurs., Nov. 8, which will include a few videos, followed by a conversation with the audience. Directly after that is Buschel’s talk at 7 p.m.

“My panel, Recovery Is a Verb, will be a conversation about the state of addiction in America,” Buschel said. “Then we will close with a 21st anniversary screening called Gridlock’d. It’s a great film starring Tupac Shakur, Tim Roth and Thandie Newton, with Elizabeth Peña, Lucy Liu and John Sayles. It’s about two guys trying to get into a government detox program. Tupac plays Spoon and Tim Roth is Stretch. It was written and directed by Vondie Curtis-Hall.”

“We get 150 submissions from filmmakers around the world,” said Bushel. “We watch every one of them. Our panel votes on which are the very best and it is never easy to narrow it down. [There are] so many great submissions.”

Click here for your free ticket!

More Festival Highlights

Coach Jake (2017): At 70 years old, Martin “Coach Jake” Jacobson is the winningest high school coach in NYC history. But this year, both on and off the field, may be the most challenging yet. Directed by Ian Phillips. Special Appearance by Coach Jake and director Ian Phillips. 82 min.

Peace, Love and Zoo (2018) This film explores the colorful world of artist and recovery guru, Zoo Cain, as he uses art to ease his journey into darkness through cancer and a difficult relationship. Directed by Reginald Groff. Special Appearance by Director Reginald Groff and star Zoo Cain. 68 min.

When Love is Not Enough: The Lois Wilson Story (2010) Based on the true story of the enduring love story between Lois Wilson and Bill W. and the transformational social movements they founded. Directed by John Kent Harrison. Starring Winona Ryder. 92 min.

That Way Madness Lies (2018) Filmmaker Sandra Luckow’s scary account of her brother’s dangerous and ever-escalating cycle of arrests, incarcerations and commitment to mental institutions, one of which included a stay in Oregon State Hospital (the setting of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest). Directed by Sandra Luckow. NY Premiere. Personal Appearance by director Sandra Luckow. 101 min.

WONDER WOMEN WEDNESDAY
Films made by women, starring women, about women.

These films are not just for women. Everyone is encouraged to come and to join in the discussion after each film.

Recovering (2017) In this hour-long pilot, Cally Claremont, the adult child of an alcoholic (and so naturally, a recovering perfectionist), must seek help from her estranged sister and a famously sober rock star in order to save her unique treatment center from closing its doors. Directed by Carly Keyes. 46 min.

Cleaner Daze (2018) is a dark comedy series about addiction, written by a recovering drug addict. The story follows a newbie drug counselor while she struggles with a crew of misfit teenage drug addicts and her own secret addiction. Starring Abigail Reno. Directed by Tess Sweet. 55 min.

Ciao Manhattan (1972) Essential viewing for anyone intrigued by 60’s pop culture, the New York art scene and the Summer of Love. Ciao is a thinly disguised biopic of the last days of “tragic muse” and Andy Warhol superstar Edie Sedgwick, who died two weeks after the film was released. Directed by David Weisman and John Palmer. 84 min.

Do No Harm: The Opioid Epidemic (2018) Today’s opioid epidemic is the worst man-made public health epidemic in American history. Every year we lose more people to opioid deaths than were killed in the entire Vietnam War. Narrated by Golden Globe winning actor Ed Harris. Directed by Harry Wiland. 90 min.

I’m looking forward to RRFF and seeing Buschel again. This tireless innovator is now 24 years clean and sober. Man, I wish I had his energy.

View the original article at thefix.com

2 November 2018
Generation Z Is Massively Stressed Out

Generation Z is also the most likely to report mental health conditions, according to a new survey.

Issues such as gun violence, sexual assault and immigration are contributing to high levels of stress in Generation Z, according to new data.

According to the American Psychological Association’s annual Stress in America survey, Generation Z (those ages 15 to 21) has become more politically active this year and that the condition of the country is contributing to their stress levels.

The survey included data from 3,458 individuals 18 and older, as well as interviews with 300 teenagers ages 15 to 17. The purpose of the survey is to measure “attitudes and perception of stress to identify the leading sources of stress among the general public.”

One of the main areas of concern among the younger generation was safety in schools. According to the survey, about 75% of Generation Z say that mass shootings contribute to their stress levels, and 72% said the same of school shootings specifically.

The survey also found that about 74% of parents are concerned about the possibility of a school shooting.

In comparison, the survey found that 69% of millennials stress about mass shootings and 73% about school shootings. For Generation X and Baby Boomers, that decreased to about 58% for each.

“The pressures facing Generation Z are different from those that faced older generations at the same age. For example, mass shootings simply did not happen with the same scale and frequency when I was in school,” Arthur Evans, a psychologist and CEO of the American Psychological Association (APA), told CNN.

According to APA spokeswoman Sophie Bethune, this is the 12th year that the APA has conducted this survey, but the first year it has asked participants about gun violence.

The survey also asked about issues such as immigration, climate change, rising suicide rates and reports of sexual harassment or abuse, CNN reports.

In doing so, it found that 68% of people between 18 and 21 were concerned about the state of the country, yet only 54% said they would be voting in November, which is well below the average of 70% across generations.

When it came to other issues, 57% of Generation Z considered separation and deportation of immigrant families to contribute to their stress levels, whereas only 45% of adults as a whole did. Similarly, 53% of Gen Z considered sexual harassment or abuse a stressor, compared to 39% of overall adults.

Evans says these differences have to do with the development of the brain and how it processes stress.

However, there were some positive findings when it came to Generation Z. According to survey findings, members of this generation were more likely to report mental health conditions and more likely to speak out about challenges.

As a whole, the survey found that 75% of participants reported feeling hopeful about their future.

View the original article at thefix.com

1 November 2018
Aaron Hernandez Allegedly Smoked K2 For Days Before Death

One inmate says the New England Patriot spent his last days smoking K2 and “wasn’t in his right mind.”

Radar Online has reported that former New England Patriots tight-end, Aaron Hernandez, spent the last two days of his life using synthetic marijuana, and died by suicide while in a chemically disoriented state.

Documents viewed by Radar also suggested that a state investigation into Hernandez’s suicide on April 19, 2017 at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Lancaster, Massachusetts withheld information about the 27-year-old’s drug use for fear of compromising a separate investigation into drug use at the facility.

Hernandez was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for his role in the shooting death of semi-pro player Odin Lloyd in 2013.

Radar cited a redacted section of the 132-page public report that included quotes from an interview with an unnamed inmate on the day Hernandez died.

According to Radar, the prisoner is reported to have said, “Well, he’s spent the last two days smoking K2 in his cell, and he wasn’t in his right mind.”

Two other inmates corroborated that story, while all three alleged that Hernandez appeared to be in a positive or even celebratory mood in the days prior to his death, possibly due to his acquittal on murder charges stemming from a separate double homicide in 2012.

Reports about Hernandez’s alleged use of K2—a form of synthetic marijuana with a propensity for causing a host of symptoms from hallucinations to unconsciousness and in some cases, severe bleeding—surfaced almost immediately after his death.

But a 2017 toxicology report from the Massachusetts State Police found that Hernandez had no evidence of drugs in his system at the time of his death.

But as toxicologist Marilyn Huestis told the Boston Globe, K2 can be easy to miss in test screenings. “These [synthetic marijuana strains] can be so potent, the doses so low, that when a person takes it, you can only measure it in their blood for a short period of time,” she noted. “So labs will frequently miss it in the blood.”

Those findings were rebuked by Hernandez’s lawyer, Jose Baez, who in a statement to People, said, “The lack of professionalism exhibited by government officials and their employees during this entire process is unprecedented.”

Another of Hernandez’s lawyers, George Leontire, also condemned the state’s handling of the investigation. “Any disturbing commentary about the state’s investigation was clearly hidden from the public, Aaron’s lawyers, and his family,” he said to the Globe.

View the original article at thefix.com

1 November 2018